data-mm-id=”_b78oqu1vd”>Jimmy Butler had a relatively quiet season last year by his standards, but he reminded the NBA world why he deserved the Playoff Jimmy moniker once the postseason started. He led the Miami Heat to a massive upset over the Milwaukee Bucks, toppling the top-seeded team in the East as an eight-seed. Butler then helped the Heat defeat the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics en route to his second NBA Finals appearance in four years. Miami came up short as the Denver Nuggets won the title in five games but their Finals run as the eighth seed that had to battle through the Play-In Tournament to even qualify for the postseason will live on in basketball history. It also makes this season a big one for Butler and the rest of the Heat. Despite all the rumors, Miami did not land Bradley Beal or Damian Lillard, the two superstars to hit the trade market this offseason. They lost Gabe Vincent and Max Strus, two key contributors to their unlikely playoff run. That means all eyes are on the 34-year-old Butler to elevate the Heat to the heights they proved capable of reaching last year. All this and more is why Butler was chosen as Sports Illustrated's cover star for the magazine's 2023-24 NBA Preview edition. "Jimmy Butler is one of the most transcendent players in the NBA today, an elite talent with a unique personality and voice on and off the court,” said Sports Illustrated Editor-in-Chief Stephen Cannella in a press release. “We wanted a fun insider’s view to guide SI’s look at the upcoming NBA season. Jimmy brings that and more—and he’s just as excited to talk tennis as he is hoops.”Here's the full cover starring Butler. Jimmy Butler / Jeffery A. Salter/Sports Illustrated.Additionally, Butler served as a "guest editor" for this issue of SI. In a statement crowning Butler as the "most interesting man in the NBA," Sports Illustrated described exactly what Butler will bring to the table from an editorial standpoint for their 2023-24 NBA preview. "The most interesting man in the NBA, Miami Heat superstar Jimmy Butler – a burgeoning coffee mogul, tennis fanatic, and aspiring country crooner – serves as guest editor of Sports Illustrated’s NBA Preview, part of its 2023 Basketball Preview issue, available at SI.com and on newsstands today," reads the statement. "Alongside SI NBA insiders Chris Herring, Chris Mannix and Rohan Nadkarni, Butler brings readers scouting reports, predicts in-season storylines, and goes beyond the NBA to reflect on his love of tennis and his friendship with the sport’s next big star, Carlos Alcaraz."Here's what Butler had to say about his experience with SI: “I enjoyed being the special guest editor for Sports Illustrated’s new NBA Season Preview Issue. Gracing the magazine’s cover while also being able to give readers a glimpse into my life on and off the court was fun. From talking hoops, tennis, and soccer to highlighting some of my favorite coffee shops to visit on the road–this issue has it all,” said Butler.Along with plenty of NBA talk, this edition of Sports Illustrated will also include breakdowns of the upcoming NCAA men and women's college basketball seasons, a feature on tennis' succession plan with Carlos Alcaraz and Coco Gauff, and a look at Jimmy Garoppolo's time in Las Vegas with Josh McDaniels.
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Seeler spent his 19-year playing career, spanning from 1953 to 1972, with Hamburg and is considered the greatest player in the German club s history.
He also earned 72 caps for West Germany and played in their 1966 World Cup final defeat to England.
The news of Seeler s death was confirmed by Hamburg, where he also worked as president for three years in the 1990s, in a statement on their official website.
Uwe stands for everything that characterises a good person: down-to-earthness, loyalty, joie de vivre, plus he was always approachable, said HSV board member Jonas Boldt.
He is the epitome of HSV. I personally have special memories of our get-together on his last birthday. He talked sh…
Declan Rice s West Ham contract is due to expire next year and he has rejected fresh terms, prompting interest from rival English clubs.
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City have all been linked with the 24-year-old England international midfielder.
But the Hammers have rated Rice at £100million, which would be close to a British-record transfer fee.
TOP STORY – CITY TAKE POLE POSITION FOR RICE
Manchester City are leading the pursuit to sign West Ham midfielder Declan Rice, reports TEAMtalk.
The report claims City have come into contention with a probable trio of off-season departures paving the way for the English champions to afford the move.
Kalvin Phillips, Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva are all potentially on the way …
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But Solskjaer s men ended Mourinho s winning start at Spurs with a 2-1 success, scoring early in both halves through the inspired Marcus Rashford.
Dele Alli scored a wonderful equaliser six minutes before half-time, which Solskjaer acknowledged was tough to take after controlling the game to that point.
Especially first half, that s probably the best we ve played for a long time, he told Prime Video. We dominated the game and could have, should have…
Didier Deschamps insisted pleasing Kylian Mbappe played no part in his decision to make the Paris Saint-Germain star France captain.
Hugo Lloris retirement vacated the France captaincy, with Mbappe named as the new skipper earlier this week ahead of Euro 2024 qualifiers against the Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland.
Mbappe revealed on Thursday that Antoine Griezmann, one of France s longest-serving players, was disappointed by the decision, though Deschamps refuted the suggestion he made the call to appease the 24-year-old, who won the Golden Boot at last year s World Cup.
It s not a choice to make him happy, but because I am convinced that he has all the qualities to do so, Deschamps said in a press conference.
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De Gea was poised to return home to the Spanish capital last year until his proposed contract was reportedly eaten by a faulty fax machine on deadline day, with the Spain international going on to sign a four-year extension and help United to FA Cup glory.
Madrid have been linked with another bid for De Gea, despite Keylor Navas helping the club to Champions League glory in 2015-16, however, the 25-year-old has no plans to depart Manchester.
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Internationally, he ha…
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I m not ruling out playing again but as it goes on, increasingly it gets harder, Gordon told the Daily Record.
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Netherlands attacker Arjen Robben says his team s clash against Germany is make or break for their Euro 2012 campaign.
Having lost their opening Group B game to Denmark 1-0 on Saturday, the Dutch need a positive result from their second match or risk suffering elimination.
Robben, 28, is well aware of the seriousness of the game but is remaining optimistic about his side s chances against Joachim Loew s men.
Against Germany it is make or break, he told AD.nl.
But we are still confident. We will, can and should win. If that happens, everything will be good and we can rise again.
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